


Hacking Lessons

by unityManipulator



Category: Hiveswap
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 06:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17157281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unityManipulator/pseuds/unityManipulator
Summary: Another day with Mallek! Written as a secret santa gift.





	Hacking Lessons

A tapping sound echoes through the room as you stretch, arching against the worn cushions of the couch and running a hand through your undercut. The lights are dim but warm, and you pull your glasses from the side table to see Mallek hunched over his computer, hard at work and focused on… well, whatever he’s been doing. Probably another drone rerouting, if you had to guess.

You swing your legs over the edge of the couch, shoving your rumpled cape to the arm before standing and making your way to Mallek’s chair. He flinches, slapping at his computer keyboard to hide the open windows, and turns to you so fast his glasses slip down his nose.

“Azzie, dude, when’d you wake up?” 

“Just now,” you reply, a little curious about the new notification blinking on his husktop.

He shrugs, locking his computer before standing with a stretch. His sweatshirt rides up as he does and you fight back the urge to poke at his hip before he turns to you and grins. “Breakfast, yeah?”

You nod and he bounces down the stairs, jumping the last three and making his way to his kitchen. You smile, running down the stairs behind him and grabbing the plate he offers you before reaching into the fridge for a carton of eggs. 

You hop onto the counter as he cooks, checking Chitter on your phone until he shoves a plate into your lap. He returns to the fridge for a bottle of grubsauce, pouring a healthy puddle onto his own eggs and slamming the fridge’s door behind him. The two of you make your way upstairs and he collapses back into his computer chair, sliding his plate onto his desk and pulling a pair of forks from his hoodie pocket.

He gestures with a forkful of egg for you to come over, and you do, rolling your own office chair to the desk as he scoots to his right.

“So. If you’re staying here, you ought to pick this up, yeah? Learn how to do this on your own.” He logs into his computer with a few quick taps of his claws against the keyboard, and you lean in curiously as he opens a new window of a program you don’t recognize. “Okay, so first we’re putting out a ping to see what drones are nearby…”

 

It’s late afternoon by the time Mallek lets up, rolling his chair back as the final lines of code finish their crawl up his husktop’s screen. You stretch again, feeling the knot in your back untangle as you catch his eye. He’s smiling, softer than the cocky grins that normally cross his face, the faintest hint of his fangs visible against his lower lip. You smile back as he stands, pushing his hands into his pockets before making his way to the door. “C’mon,” he says, and you stand and pull on the hoodie you borrowed from him over your Doom pyjamas. “We’ve got a delivery to pick up.” 

The limo ride is smooth, whizzing through the Alternian countryside towards an empty field on the outskirts of Thrashthrust, and you lean against Mallek’s shoulder as he taps at his phone and checks the status of the drone you’d rerouted. When it stops, he grabs your hand, running through the fields towards a package with Alternian words stamped across the side. Thankfully, it’s not very big, and the two of you manage to get it back to the limo quickly before hopping in and speeding away.

He’s grinning and laughing, and you join in, happily chattering about your success until the limo pulls into the apartment’s parking lot and you lug the box into the elevator. He punches the button for the sub-sub-basement, smiling at you and knocking his elbow against yours as you descend.

The river is just like you remember it, and you smile as you remember the first time Mallek showed you the place until he shouts for you to help him pry the box open. It takes a few minutes, but eventually you manage to pop the top open.

You gasp when you see the contents of the box.

“Fanciest chocolates highbloods can buy,” he brags, reaching in and pulling out a box of truffles. “It’s a little late for any holidays, of course, but… had to wait for a shipment I could hack into.” He pops one into his mouth, biting down before speaking again through a mouthful of chocolate. “Had to get plain ones too, so they’re not very Alternian, but…” He trails off as you lean forward, giving him a quick peck on the lips and grabbing a truffle of your own before thanking him and popping it into your mouth.


End file.
